Criminal Threats (PC 422)
Penal Code § 422 · CALCRIM 1300
Criminal threats is a "wobbler" — chargeable as a misdemeanor or a felony, with the felony form counting as a strike. Because so much turns on the precise words, the context, and the listener's reaction, these cases are often more defensible than they first appear.
We defend people charged with crimes in Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside counties. We do not file lawsuits or represent victims.
In plain English
How serious is this?
A criminal threat is a threat to seriously hurt or kill someone, made in a way that puts them in genuine, lasting fear. It can be charged over a single sentence — but the law sets a high bar for what actually qualifies, and that bar is where a defense begins.
| Case reference | PC 422 · criminal threats |
|---|---|
| Section | PC 422 |
| Severity | Wobbler (misd / felony) |
| Act required | Words only |
| Injury required | No |
| Custody exposure | ≤ 1 yr jail · or 16 mo–2–3 yrs prison |
| Strike | Yes if felony |
| Weapon add-on | +1 yr if used |
| Instruction | CALCRIM 1300 |
Reduction paths: PC 17(b) motion · plea to attempted threat, disturbing the peace (PC 415), or harassment. Each threatened person can be a separate count. Figures are ranges — confirm against current statute.
What it carries, on paper
| Penalty | Range |
|---|---|
| If a misdemeanor | Summary probation · up to 1 year county jail · fine |
| If a felony | Formal probation · 16 months, 2, or 3 years state prison · fine up to $10,000 |
| Weapon enhancement | One additional, consecutive year if a deadly or dangerous weapon was used to make the threat |
| Strike consequences | A felony conviction counts as a strike — future felonies carry doubled sentences and reduced credits |
| Firearms | A felony conviction means a lifetime firearms ban; a misdemeanor carries a 10-year ban |
| Immigration | Can be treated as a crime involving moral turpitude — serious risk for non-citizens |
| Also expect | Possible protective order · counseling · victim restitution |
The first few hours
Common mistakes people make early
Criminal-threats cases turn on words and context, so what you say and do after the arrest can matter as much as the original statement.
Before the first meeting
What to bring your lawyer
- Any charging or arrest paperwork, and any protective order.
- The complete exchange — every text, email, voicemail, DM, or post, in full and in order, not just the part quoted against you.
- An honest account of what was said, what led up to it, and the relationship with the other person.
- Names and numbers of anyone who was present or heard it.
Mitigation packet — bring whatever applies
Good outcomes often turn on who you are, not just what happened. Start gathering these early — we use them to argue for reduction, diversion, or a lighter sentence. This same packet helps in any charge we defend, so it's worth building once and keeping.
- Education — diplomas, transcripts, enrollment or admission letters.
- Family & dependants — photos of your children and family, and proof you support them.
- Military service — proof of service or discharge papers (DD-214).
- Employment — proof of work, a letter from your employer, recent pay records.
- Medical — diagnosis, hospital records, and treatment history for any condition.
- Steps already taken — proof of enrollment in an anger-management, counseling, or treatment program.
- Character — reference letters and evidence of community or volunteer involvement.
What you can do now
- Preserve the full conversation — screenshot everything in context; do not delete or edit anything.
- Have no contact with the other person, directly or through friends — route everything through your lawyer.
- Consider enrolling voluntarily in an anger-management or counseling program — starting before court shows real initiative.
- Write down exactly what was said and what was happening while it's fresh.
- Avoid discussing the case with anyone but your lawyer — and never on social media.
The law — for counsel
Elements
CALCRIM 1300 sets out what the People must prove beyond a reasonable doubt:
Penal Code § 422 · CALCRIM 1300
(1) The defendant willfully threatened to unlawfully kill or cause great bodily injury to another person; and (2) the threat was made orally, in writing, or by electronic communication; and (3) the defendant intended the statement to be understood as a threat, and intended it be communicated to the target; and (4) the threat was so clear, immediate, unconditional, and specific that it conveyed a serious intention and an immediate prospect that it would be carried out; and (5) the threat actually caused the target to be in sustained fear for their own safety or that of their immediate family; and (6) that fear was reasonable under the circumstances.
Counterintuitive points
- No intent, or ability, to actually carry it out is required. The crime is the threat and its effect, not any plan to act.
- "Sustained fear" is a real threshold. Momentary or fleeting fear is not enough — fear that is brief and quickly dispelled can defeat the charge.
- Conditional, vague, or emotional outbursts may fall outside the statute where they lack the required immediacy and specificity — context is everything (In re George T.).
- A pure gesture or ambiguous act is not enough — the threat must be communicated as a threat; but it can be conveyed through a third party.
- Specific intent crime. Unlike ADW, the defendant must intend the statement be taken as a threat — which opens genuine intent defenses (venting, joke, hyperbole).
- Counting. Each person placed in sustained fear can be charged as a separate count; multiple threats to one person over one objective may not multiply.
Where it is fought
Jury instructions & bench notes
- CALCRIM 1300 is the core instruction.
- Watch the bench notes on "sustained fear," on the unequivocal/unconditional/immediate/specific requirement, and on the reasonableness of the fear.
- Lesser included / alternative instructions worth considering: attempted criminal threat, and PC 415 (disturbing the peace).
- First Amendment overlay: true-threat analysis (In re George T.; and note recent U.S. Supreme Court treatment of the mental-state requirement for true threats).
Common defenses
- Not a genuine threat: vague, ambiguous, conditional, or hyperbole — lacking the immediacy and specificity the statute demands.
- No sustained fear: the reaction was fleeting, or later conduct (staying, laughing, continued contact) undercuts the claim of lasting fear.
- Fear was not reasonable under the circumstances.
- No intent it be taken as a threat: venting, a joke, or emotional outburst — the specific-intent element is the most attackable.
- Protected speech: the statement falls outside the "true threat" exception to the First Amendment.
- False or exaggerated accusation: impeach with the full exchange, motive, and prior inconsistent statements.
- Mistaken identity where the threat was electronic or relayed.
- Unlawful search or interrogation: suppression under PC 1538.5 / Miranda.
Common questions
FAQs
01Can I really be charged over just words?
Yes. Criminal threats requires no weapon and no violence — the words themselves are the offense, if they were serious, specific, and put the other person in genuine, lasting fear. But that high bar is also what makes these cases defensible.
02Does a text or social-media post count?
Yes. A threat made by text, email, DM, or post can support the charge just as a spoken one can. The full exchange around it often matters as much as the message itself.
How we help
Talk to us before you talk to anyone else
A 422 is built out of words, which makes context the case. We ask for the whole exchange rather than the screenshot that was handed to police — what was said before it, what was said after, and what both people did next. Someone who stays in the room, keeps texting, or waits a week to report is telling you something about sustained fear, and specific intent remains the hardest element for the People to prove.
We cover Los Angeles County Superior Court in all districts — Airport, Downtown (CCB and Metro), Van Nuys, Long Beach, Pasadena, Torrance, Inglewood, Compton, Downey, Norwalk, Alhambra, Bellflower, West Covina, Pomona, San Fernando, and the rest of the county.
Because a 422 can be filed as a misdemeanor or as a felony carrying a strike, the filing decision matters as much as anything that happens later. Where the case has not yet been filed we put our work in front of the prosecutor early, then carry it through arraignment, discovery, motions, the preliminary hearing and resolution with the same two attorneys throughout.
Law Office of Aaron P. McAllister — Aaron P. McAllister, Esq., responsible attorney. 3415 S Sepulveda Blvd, Suite 1100, Los Angeles, CA 90034. Attorney advertising. This page is general information about California law, not legal advice. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Submitting information through this website does not create an attorney–client relationship.